Domain Names - .net or a dash - What is best?

26 replies
  • SEO
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Im sure everyone knows that most of the good domain names for almost every niche are long gone.

Here is my question - Is it better to get a .com domain with a dash like best-software.com or would it be better to get it with a .net like bestsoftware.net ???

obviously these exact domains are not available but Im sure you all get the point. In this question Im refering to organic search results. Is it easier to optimize for organic with a dash - or a .net ??

What are your thoughts?

Thanks all.....
#dash #domain #names #net #seo
  • Profile picture of the author JasonP
    I'm sure you'll get a lot more google love without the dashes. Go for the .net or .org if available, BUT if you have to resort to dashes, suffixes and prefixes always use .com

    Hope this helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author Tom Byrde
    Good advice there from Jason. I alwaus go for the .net of the .com is taken too.

    Tom
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  • Profile picture of the author kelvin yeo
    Definitely the .net or .org without dashes. With dashes is the less preferred option. Having said this, you'll still rank well for dashes assuming you've done your keyword research well and have done your off-page optimization.
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  • Profile picture of the author bha
    .net or .org is better than the dashes. Also, try something like buykeyword.com, getkeyword.com, mykeyword.com, etc as an alternative.
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  • Profile picture of the author sdkWriter
    dot net or dot org. If you're building micro niche sites, a-la xfactor, move to another keyword if you can't get the com/net/org tld.
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  • Profile picture of the author kendrickyi
    I just think having no dashes is more "visually appealing" and I prefer not having any dash.

    I've seen domains that end with .me instead of .com or .net or .org. .me sounds quite personal and I like it.
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  • Profile picture of the author SherryLee
    I say go for the .net. That name is still trusted. A dash can look kind of spammy.
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  • Profile picture of the author freddy smith
    what is a good example of domain or company that use .net
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    • Profile picture of the author oliverwinston
      In order of best to worst.

      1. .com
      2. net
      3. .org

      4. .com with a hyphen (as long as it is an exact keyword match)

      I've had good luck with .me domains if nothing better is available.
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    • Profile picture of the author Armandotoledo
      Originally Posted by freddy smith View Post

      what is a good example of domain or company that use .net
      just visit goldbar.net
      I think they are good
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  • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
    For SEO purposes, it makes no difference. What matters are links, the quality and the quantity of them.

    For resell and branding purposes, an undashed .com will do the best due to the mythology surrounding it unless the undashed version spells something unfortunate.
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    • Profile picture of the author paulgl
      domain name doesn't mean squat to google.
      .net?????? No big ones?????
      earthlink.net
      Case closed.
      Where do you people get your info?

      Paul
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      • Profile picture of the author fir3d
        Originally Posted by paulgl View Post

        domain name doesn't mean squat to google.
        .net?????? No big ones?????
        earthlink.net
        Case closed.
        Where do you people get your info?

        Paul
        Actually domain name means a lot to google. You can rank with an irrelevant domain, nobody will argue with that, but it is a LOT more easier with the exact match domain.
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  • Profile picture of the author bigbyte
    .net's work OK, but I think you lose roughly 20% of the available traffic. A .org works great for a non-commercial intent. I always go .com after I compared the results of .net and .org domains.
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  • Profile picture of the author sjedwardz
    Is there any empirical evidence on .coms being the best,no dashes, etc or is it urban myth / gut feeling?? I've seen it bandied around a lot.

    After all "google.com" doesn't exactly scream out search engine does it?
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    • Profile picture of the author bigbyte
      Google is a brand name.

      Do you own a brand or a website? If you just own a website the first 3 things somebody sees in search results is your page title, site description, and the domain name. These 3 things need to a) match the search intend as good as possible and they need to create trust.

      Now think SPAM and decide what eventually helps to raise the trust level. You have to do testing and eventually waste a few domain names (they are disposable), but once you see what works best ... rinse and repeat.
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  • Profile picture of the author edgray
    the only time the TLD extension in a domain really matters is when it comes to geotargetting and so forth. For example, it helps to have a .co.uk address to rank in google.co.uk.

    I would try to avoid hyphens - Google doesn't need words to be hyphenated to understand them (except in certain circumstances... like molestationnursery.com, they should've put one there!)
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  • Profile picture of the author ClearWater404
    in my experience, using dashes will require more offsite SEO work to rank well.

    between .net and .org, my .org sites rank quicker and better, but you can still achieve page 1 rankings in G with a .net.

    make sure your main keyword is in your domain name, if you cannot get it as
    keyword.com or keyword.org, then go for mykeyword.com or keyword101.com or keyword123.com ...
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  • Profile picture of the author mloveridge17
    I would go for a .com over a .net or .org ANY DAY, even with a dash. In fact, the dash actually HELPS the search engines figure out the specific words. When it comes to organic rankings, dashes don't detract at all.

    Now, when it comes to memorability and ease of use, dashes can be an impediment, but not so much to loose any sleep over. I recommend .com all the way.
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  • Profile picture of the author JadeCloud
    It doesn't really matter. Google treats a dash as a space.
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  • Profile picture of the author ninfanforlife
    I am a big fan of this rule com > net > org
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  • Profile picture of the author user17os
    yes ... better for you to choose .net or .org, use dash for your domain will make seems spammy site.
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    • Profile picture of the author Negotiator74
      I have more than 100 sites currently so I have first hand experience here. I agree with many above that .com, .net .org are all fine. Now what hasn't been said is that the dash sites do have equal footing as long as it's an exact match to your keyword BUT they do TAKE LONGER TO RANK. In other words, if I set up a keyword.com site and a key-word.com site they will both rank well EVENTUALLY...but, the non-dash site will rank MUCH QUICKER and with less off page SEO. Hope that helps.
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